The present disclosure relates to a display input device, and an image forming apparatus including a display portion.
An image forming apparatus has a plurality of setting items for which the setting values can be changed upon execution of a job. Therefore, a general image forming apparatus includes a display input device for accepting an instruction to change each setting value.
The display input device of the image forming apparatus may include, as well as a hardware key, a display portion with a touch panel on which a software key, a menu, and the like are displayed. Such a display input device displays, on the display portion, a software key, a menu, and the like for accepting various settings, and detects a touched position (software key) touched via the touch panel, based on output of the touch panel.
However, in the case where various settings are accepted through a touching operation on the touch panel, a user cannot obtain a feeling (click feeling) as obtained when pressing the hardware key. Therefore, the user cannot instantaneously determine whether or not a touching operation performed on the touch panel has been definitely accepted, and thus the usability is poor.
A display input device that provides a click feeling to a user when the user touches a touch panel, is known. The display input device vibrates the touch panel in response to the touch panel being touched by a user. Specifically, a piezoelectric element is provided on the touch panel, so that the piezoelectric element is vibrated when a user touches the touch panel. As a result, the touch panel is vibrated.
Normally, in the known display input device, in order to prevent the piezoelectric element from being visible through the display screen, the piezoelectric element is provided at only a certain part (a part outside the valid display area) of the touch panel. Therefore, when a user touches the touch panel, the touched position may be a position near the providing position of the piezoelectric element or may be a position far from the providing position of piezoelectric element.
In this case, if the touched position is a position near the providing position of the piezoelectric element, vibration of the piezoelectric element is well transmitted to a finger of the user. However, if the touched position is a position far from the providing position of the piezoelectric element, vibration of the piezoelectric element is less transmitted to a finger of the user. That is, a click feeling (feeling of vibration caused by the piezoelectric element) provided when a user touches the touch panel is strengthened as the touched position comes close to the providing position of the piezoelectric element, and weakened as the touched position becomes away from the providing position of the piezoelectric element. Therefore, when a user touches the touch panel, the click feeling provided to a user varies depending on the touched position.